The invention relates to a safety mechanism for preventing the accidental discharge of live ammunition during a training exercise and in particular, to a system for releasing the pressure generated from a live round of ammunition, thereby retaining the bullet in the bore of the firearm.
The invention comprises a pressure porting safety system for use in firearms used in the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (“MILES”). MILES is a training system used by the Dept. of Defense, most branches of the military, both foreign and domestic, and law enforcement, as well as other federal agencies in what is called “Force on Force Exercises”. In essence, this is a high tech version of laser tag, utilizing real firearms. The firearms use a laser transmitter, which activates when the weapon is fired and sends a laser signal to a harness worn by an adversary. If the shooter's aim is on, the harness responds with a “kill” signal, thereby indicating that the player has been removed from further participation in the training exercise. The MILES system is designed to use only blank ammunition. One such system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,371 to Hall.
One problem with the MILES system is that a person can inadvertently place a live round into the firearm and it will function as the gun was designed, meaning the bullet will actually exit the firearm when fired as in live warfare. Thus the unintentionally and unexpectedly fired ammunition will nevertheless possibly inflict unintended, yet serious bodily harm and/or property damage, because no live ammunition was expected by the shooter or the target. It is believed that this has happened many times through the years and has resulted in the deaths of several people. The present invention is based on the principle of releasing the pressure generated from the live round being fired, thereby retaining the bullet in the bore.
What has long been needed is a reliable method for preventing an inadvertently loaded live round of ammunition from being fired from a gun or rife, such as the M16 Rifle and the 9 mm Bereta Handgun or other standard-issue military, police or recreational guns—so as to prevent accidental shootings during training exercises, simulated combat situations or recreational use.